Brant pulled off a backroad onto a gravel driveway. The driveway seemed to last forever until they finally arrived at a massive house. Luca looked around and could see a few of the other houses branching out across the general area. Gravel paths led to them all.

He looked away from the house in front of him when the car door beside him opened. It was Darrien. Luca stepped out of the car and stretched his legs. There were a few people walking around, some stopped to look at him.

"What is this?" He asked Darrien in amazement.

"This is a packhouse. There are a few more like it around," he said.

"Do you live there?" Luca asked.

"I do for now, but you and I will be moving into our own house soon."

Luca looked around, feeling slightly weird by the number of people watching him. More people had gathered around the area. "They're excited for the new Luna of the pack," Darrien revealed.

"Luna? Isn't that what a female is called?"

"I'm the alpha. There can't be two alphas so you are the male Luna. They are happy to finally have one. The pack thrives best when the positions of power are filled, and we've been waiting for you."

Luca nodded his head. "Interesting."

"I know it must be weird now, but you'll get used to our dynamic. Follow me."

Darrien walked into the packhouse in front of them. He ascended the stairs to the third floor and pulled open a door. Luca walked through and saw it was a bedroom that smelled heavily of Darrien, a scent he could bask in for the rest of his life.

"You'll be staying here, with me."

"We um... we are going to share the same bed?"

"Yes," Darrien answered, leaving no room for argument.

Luca looked around and saw the Brant had already brought his bags up. "The bathroom is through that door," Darrien said pointing to a door on the left side of the room. "And the closet is right through there," he said, pointing behind him.

The room was very large. There was a king-sized bed in the middle of the room, a fireplace and mantle on the wall in front of the bed. There were chairs on either side of the fireplace. There were even glass doors that opened up to a balcony on the right side of the room.

"This is a nice room," Luca observed as he traced his hand over the soft comforter on the bed.

"I'm glad you like it," Darrien responded.

Luca looked up and noticed Darrien had come to stand very close to him without him even noticing. He gulped, feeling tingles at their close proximity.

"I ahh, I need to go to the bathroom," Luca said and tried to walk past Darrien. However, Darrien detected his lie and grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to stop.

"You're very cute," Darrien said huskily as he trailed the pad of his thumb over Luca's features. Luca's cheeks flamed at the compliment.

"Have you ever been with a man before?" Darrien asked.

Luca shook his head. "You're the first guy I've ever kissed. I've never even been with... a girl before either. Not the full way," he revealed his face on fire. Girls had gone down on him before, but he'd never done more than kiss them or touch their boobs. He had no desire to be in their hoo-has. "What about you?"

Darrien nodded his head. "I've been with men and women."

Luca couldn't help the scrunch of disgust on his face. He didn't want to think about Darrien having sex with other people. It made him extremely jealous.

Though he understood why people would be very sexually attracted to him, he was beautiful. He was muscular and strong. He had a defined six-pack of abs and his biceps were large. His forearms were strong and veiny, and Luca couldn't stop staring at them.

"But I only want you, Luca," Darrien said.

His lips dropped to Luca's and he gently massaged them with his own. He bit down gently on Luca's bottom lip, allowing him to slide his tongue into his mate's mouth. Luca moaned at the contact, a noise that went straight to Darrien's dick.

Darrien brought his hand up and rested it on Luca's abdomen. His mate was very toned. He could feel his abs through his shirt.

Darrien slipped his hand under Luca's shirt but hesitated, making sure Luca was okay with it. When he didn't oppose, he moved his hand up, trailing his fingers over the crevices of muscle in his abdomen. Darrien moaned when Luca swiped his tongue over his. It was euphoria to be in the presence of his mate.

Luca pulled away to catch his breath, breathing heavily through his nose. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Yeah, he's kissed Darrien before, but it wasn't heated like this.

"Darrien?"

"Yes, Luca?" Darrien pulled his gaze away from Luca's plump lips.

"I'm not ready yet, to go the full way," he said. He was very aroused from their encounter, as evident by the tent in his pants, but he didn't think he was ready for sex yet. It would be too much to handle all at once.

"Of course," he said. "I won't ever force you to do something you are not ready for." His hands still traced the lines on Luca's stomach.

"That feels nice though," Luca said shyly.

Darrien smiled and bent his head once more to capture Luca's lips with his. He gripped the back of his neck while keeping the other hand tucked under his shirt. Luca wrapped his arms around Darrien's neck and that's how they stayed for the next ten minutes, holding each other as they basked in the pleasures of their mateship.

They eventually pulled away from each other, not that either of them exactly wanted to, but Darrien needed to acquaint Luca with his pack. They walked around the pack and quite a few people approached them, congratulating them on their mate-ship and Luca's position within the pack.

Darrien showed him all of the pack houses, all four of them. About twenty people lived in each house so there were approximately 80 people in the pack houses, plus the people that lived in their own houses on the territory and not in the pack houses.

He also showed Luca the various trails through the woods that were frequently used as well as a clearing in the woods that they used for events. It was a very nice place and very expansive.

"Do you want to run in your wolf skin?" Darrien asked as they stood in the clearing. Luca vigorously shook his head. He didn't want to do that again. The shift was a horrible experience.

"I know it was a painful first experience, but it won't be as bad this time. The first time is always the worst, and you weren't prepared for it. You'll be prepared this time," Darrein said.

"It hurt so bad," Luca protested. He didn't want to do it again.

"I know, Luca, but I promise it will get easier, and eventually you'll barely even feel it. You have to practice. Your wolf needs to be let out or else you'll grow angry, and irritable, and violent. I'll be at your side the whole time," Darrein said, cupping Luca's face to provide him comfort.

Luca took a second to think it over before shakily nodding his head. "You can take your clothes off if you don't want them to rip during the shift."

Luca didn't want to ruin his favorite pair of jeans, so he took those and his shirt off, but kept his boxers on. "How do you do it?" He asked.

"Imagine yourself in your wolf skin. Imagine your bones reshaping and your skin growing fur. Then your body will begin to shift."

Luca took a deep breath and imagined himself in his wolf form, running with Darrien's beautiful wolf. Within a few seconds, he felt a burning sensation in his stomach and soon he felt his bones starting to crack. He moaned in pain and sunk to the ground, Darrien catching him before he could fully collapse.

"It hurts so fucking bad," Luca groaned as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"I know sweetheart, but it will be over soon. Just focus." Darrein kneeled beside his body and ran a hand comfortingly through his hair, trying not to touch his skin as it would be very sensitive during his shift.

After a few painfully long minutes, Luca had shifted into his wolf. Darrien undressed fully and Luca looked away when he started to take his underwear off. He shifted within seconds, showing no signs of pain, and Luca envied him. He wanted his shift to be painless, too.

Darrien's wolf approached him and licked his snout. Luca rubbed his head against Darrien's side and his wolf wanted to purr in satisfaction. He was so happy.

Luca immediately felt the urge to get up and run, to have Darrien chase him. He started running out of the clearing into the woods. He heard Darrien take off after him and he felt giddy inside at the thought of being chased by his mate.

Darrien quickly caught up to Luca, playfully biting at his tail. Luca yipped in the surprise and turned around, but Darrien was already in front of him.

Luca ran off after Darrien, but Darrien was too fast and Luca lost sight of him. He wasn't sure where to go so he sat down and hoped that Darrien would come back. All of a sudden, a brown mass of fur knocked into his side and pushed him over. He looked up a little disorientated and saw Darrien standing over him, wagging his tail playfully.

Luca reached up and swatted Darrien's side with his paw. Darrien swatted back and it became a fun little game that they played. After a few minutes of that though, Darrien moved his head and placed his jaws over Luca's exposed neck. He didn't push down or apply any pressure to the bite. Luca wasn't sure what was happening, but he felt the sudden need to shift onto his back and lay with his belly exposed, so he did.

Darrien released his gentle hold when Luca submitted and licked his snout. Luca stood up from the ground and shook his fur out as it was covered in dirt. Then the couple walked back to their clothes. Darrien shifted first and Luca thought about what Darrien had told him the first time he shifted into his wolf. "Imagine yourself as a human again, in your skin, without any fur. Imagine yourself turning back into that."

Luca focused on his human form, feeling his bones snap and reconfigure painfully back into place. While it was painful, the process of turning from human to wolf was much worse. Darrien respectfully looked away when Luca had shifted back, allowing him to change without being stared at.

"If we keep practicing with that, the shift will get quicker and more and more painless each time," Darrien said.

"I hope so," Luca groaned. Running in his wolf was fun, the process, however, was not fun.

They walked so close to each other that their fingers accidentally bumped together a few times. Luca wanted so badly to reach down and grab Darrien's hand, but he was nervous too. Relief washed over him when Darrien grabbed his hand instead. The tingles that spread over his skin at his touch were immaculate. Darrien sucked in a breath at their contact and Luca knew he must've felt the same.

Later that night, Luca grew anxious at the thought of sleeping in the same bed with Darrien. He'd never slept in a bed with anyone before, let alone a man. Though, it was alarming to him how excited he was about it.

Luca watched from the opposite side of the bed as Darrien began to undress. He couldn't help but watch as his muscles rippled when he pulled the shirt off his head. He was sinfully handsome. Then he started to unbuckle his belt and Luca's heart started beating erratically. Was he going to sleep naked, he thought to himself.

"Don't worry, I sleep in my underwear," Darrien said as if he could hear Luca's thoughts.

"I wasn't worried," Luca said with pink cheeks. He sighed and took a deep breath, pulling his shirt over his head. Then he took his jeans off but pulled on a pair of sweatpants he'd brought from home.

Then he lifted the covers up and slid under them, inhaling the scent of laundry detergent and his mate. He must've just replaced his sheets for them to smell so clean, Luca thought.

The light overhead shut off and he felt a dip in the bed beside him. He gasped when he was pulled into the muscular chest of his mate, not expecting it to happen.

"Did you think I wasn't going to cuddle you?" Darrien asked. Luca thought it was cute how such a dominant and intimating man talked about cuddling him.

"I-I don't know."

"You are my mate," Darrien said softy, trailing his fingers down Luca's toned arm. "I want to touch you as much as I can." Luca nodded and rested his head on Darrien's bicep, agreeing with that sentiment.

"So... are you gay? Or do you like both? I know you said you slept with both, but maybe that was in the past or something," Luca asked. He wanted to know Darrien more, he wanted to know every detail about him.

Darrien chuckled slightly and Luca felt the vibrations of his chest. "I wouldn't say I'm gay. I was attracted to females, mostly males though. I have been my whole life. So bisexual, leaning toward men. Though, I'm not attracted to anyone beside you now, Luca," he answered.

"I um- thanks," Luca said, not sure how to respond. "You already know about me. I'm not attracted to girls, but I did date a few of them."

"How was that? Kissing someone you weren't attracted to?"

"Repulsive," Luca said in disgust. He didn't find women appealing at all and kissing them used to gross him out.

Darrien laughed again and Luca swooned at the noise. "It's a good thing you found me then."

"A very good thing," Luca agreed. He looked up and saw Darrien's eyes staring back at him. Darrien moved his hand from Luca's arm and cupped his cheek instead.

"I've been waiting for you my whole life, Luca."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-four. It's been twenty-four lonely years."

"You weren't alone. You had many lovers you spent time with," the younger man said, a slight hint of jealously in his voice.

"Yes, but they only provided me with instant gratification. They couldn't provide me with love, or with companionship, or with what you can provide me."

Luca blushed as the image of him having sex with Darrien entered his mind after thinking of "instant gratification." He felt like his sister at the moment, always blushing, but he couldn't help it.

"What are you thinking about?" Darrien asked, looking at Luca with eyes that could practically see into his soul.

"Ahh- nothing," Luca lied.

"Tell me, sweetheart," Darrien said with a slight growl to his words. A sound that sent blood straight to Luca's dick.

"About you and me... us. In sexual ways." Luca said though he wasn't as embarrassed by admitting it as he thought he'd be.

"What are we doing?"

"I can't tell you that, Darrien," Luca said, flabbergasted that he'd asked. Darrien simply stared at him, waiting for Luca to answer the question.

"Fine," Luca sighed. "I was laying down... and you were on top of me. You held my... legs open and then you um- you put yourself inside me. And you... touched me at the same time," Luca revealed his face as red as a tomato.

"Did you like it?" Darrien asked, his voice husky. Luca's dirty thoughts had an effect on him, too. He eagerly nodded his head.

Darrien tipped his head, running his nose up and down the soft skin of Luca's neck. "One day, sweetheart," he said before planting a kiss on his skin.